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Why Boycott?

The state of Israel was built on land ethnically cleansed of its Palestinian owners. A majority of Palestinians are refugees, most of whom are stateless.

Since 1948, hundreds of UN resolutions have condemned Israel's colonial and discriminatory policies as illegal, and called for effective remedies.

People of conscience in the world have historically fought the injustice of apartheid through diverse forms of boycott, divestment and sanctions. As in the struggle of South Africans against apartheid, we in the Hudson Valley support the Palestinians in their fight for justice.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Palestinian activists have hailed a decision by SodaStream International, an Israeli-owned soft drink company, to close its controversial factory in a settlement in the occupied West Bank, calling the decision a victory for the campaign for boycott, disinvestment and sanctions.

The decision by the company, which sells its fizzy drinks maker in 45 countries, to move the plant to Lehavim in Israel’s southern Negev region was for “purely commercial” reasons and not connected to pressure from pro-Palestinian groups over its location, said SodaStream representative Nirit Hurwitz.

The Hollywood star then cut ties with the charity, citing “a fundamental difference of opinion”. Oxfam opposes all trade from Israeli settlements, saying they are illegal and deny Palestinian rights.

“SodaStream’s announcement … shows that the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is increasingly capable of holding corporate criminals to account for their participation in Israeli apartheid and colonialism,” said Rafeef Ziadah, a spokesperson.

“[The] BDS campaign pressure has forced retailers across Europe and North America to drop SodaStream, and the company’s share price has tumbled in recent months as our movement has caused increasing reputational damage to the SodaStream brand.”

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Yesterday, we visited 14 different stores near Union Square and asked them to stop selling SodaStream. At some, we spoke with managers who were receptive and said they would talk with the owners. At others, we were told there was a store policy not to discuss politics. At all, they now know that people are upset that they are selling SodaStream.